John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 13:2

"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land." — Zechariah 13:2 (ASV)

Here the Prophet mentions another effect that would follow the repentance of the people, and which the Lord also would thereby produce. There was to be a cleansing from all the defilements of superstitions, for the pure and lawful worship of God cannot be established without these filthy things being wiped away. To blend sacred with profane things is the same as if one sought to remove the difference between heaven and earth. No religion, then, can be approved by God unless it is pure and free from all such pollution. We therefore see why the Prophet adds that there would be an end to falsehoods, all errors, and the delusions of Satan when God restored His Church; for the simplicity of true doctrine would prevail, and thus whatever Satan had previously invented to corrupt religion would be abolished.

From this we learn what I have just stated: God cannot be rightly worshiped unless all corruptions inconsistent with His sincere and pure worship are taken away. But we must also observe that this effect is ascribed to God’s word, for it is God's word that can drive away and banish all the abominations of falsehood and whatever is contrary to true religion. Just as darkness is put to flight by the rising of the sun, and all things appear distinctly to view, so also when God comes forth with the teaching of His word, all the deceptions of Satan must necessarily be dissipated.

Now, these two things should especially be known. We see that many, who are not indeed ungodly but foolish and inconsiderate, think they give God His due honor while they are entangled in many errors and do not refrain from superstitions. Others, more politic, devise this way of peace: that those who think rightly are to concede something to tyrants and false prophets. Thus, they seek today to form a new religion for us, made up of Popery and of the simple doctrine of the gospel, and in this manner, so to speak, to transform God.

Since we see that people are so disposed to mix all sorts of things together, so that the pure simplicity of the gospel may be contaminated by various inventions, we ought to bear in mind this truth: the Church cannot be rightly formed until all superstitions are rejected and banished. This is one thing.

We may also deduce from this another principle: that the word of God not only shows us the way but also uncovers all the delusions of Satan. For hardly one in a hundred follows what is right unless he is reminded of what he ought to avoid. It is therefore not enough to declare that there is only one true God and that we ought to put our trust in Christ, unless another thing is added: unless we warn people of those intrigues by which Satan has from the beginning deceived miserable mortals. Even today, with what various artifices has he withdrawn the simple and unwary from the true God and entangled them in a labyrinth of superstitions!

Unless, therefore, people are thus warned, the word of God is made known to them only in part. Whoever, then, desires to perform all the duties of a good and faithful pastor should firmly resolve not only to abstain from all impure doctrines and simply to assert what is true, but also to detect all corruptions that are injurious to religion, to recover people from the deceptions of Satan, and, in short, openly to carry on war with all superstitions.

This was what Zechariah had in view when he said, In that day, that is, when God would restore His Church, perish shall the names of idols, so that they shall be remembered no more. By this last expression, he explains more clearly what I have just stated: that the pure worship of God is then established as it should be, and religion then has its own honor, when all errors and impostures cease, so that even the memory of them does not remain. It is indeed true that superstitions can never be so abolished that no mention of them should be made; in fact, the recollection of them is useful—

You shall remember your ways, says Ezekiel, and be ashamed (Ezekiel 16:6).

But by this form of speaking, Zechariah means that such would be the detestation of superstitions that the people would dread the very mention of them. And from this we may learn how much purity of doctrine is approved by God, since He would have us feel a horror, as at something monstrous, whenever the name of an idol is mentioned.

He then refers to false teachers: I will exterminate, he says, the Prophets and the unclean Spirit from the land. The connection here is worthy of being noticed, for from this it appears how all errors arise: even when a loose rein is given to false teachers. It is indeed true, I grant, that the seed of all errors is implanted in each of us, so that everyone is a teacher to deceive himself, for we are not only disposed to what is false but rush headlong into it; it is the corruption of our nature.

But at the same time, when liberty is taken to teach anything that may please people, the whole of religion must necessarily be corrupted, and all things become mixed together, so that there is no difference between light and darkness. God then here reminds us that the Church cannot stand unless false teachers are prevented from turning truth into falsehood and from speaking out vehemently at their pleasure against the word of God.

And this is what should be carefully observed, for we see today how some unprincipled people adopt this sentiment: that the Church is not free unless everyone is allowed with impunity to promulgate whatever he pleases, and that it is the greatest cruelty to punish a heretic, for they would have all liberty be given to blasphemies. But the Prophet shows here that the Church cannot be preserved in a pure state and, in a word, that it cannot exist as a healthy and sound body, unless the rashness and audacity of those who pervert sound and true doctrine are restrained.

We now, therefore, understand the meaning of this verse: that so God may be alone and indeed be rightly worshiped, He will take away and banish all idols and all superstitions, and also that He will exterminate all ungodly teachers who pervert sound doctrine.

He calls them first Prophets, and then unclean spirits. The name of Prophets is conceded to them, though they were wholly unworthy of so honorable a title. As ungodly people always boast in an audacious manner and do not hesitate to use God’s name falsely, so that they may more boldly proceed in deceiving, this is why Scripture sometimes concedes to them a name they falsely claim. So also the word spirit is sometimes applied to them—

Prove the spirits, whether they are of God: every spirit that denies that Christ has come in the flesh, he is a liar (1 John 4:1).

John undoubtedly adopted this way of speaking according to common usage, for all false teachers claimed this title with great confidence and maintained that all the errors they spread were revealed to them by the Spirit. “So be it then, but you are lying spirits.”

So then, as to this title, there is no obscurity in what the Prophet means. By way of explanation, he adds the unclean spirit that he might distinguish those vile people from the faithful ministers of God, as though he had said, “They indeed declare that they have drawn down the Spirit from heaven, but it is the spirit of the devil; it is an unclean spirit.”

Now, since Zechariah declares that this would be in the Church of God, we learn how foolish the Papists are, who are content with the mere title of honor, claim for themselves the greatest power, and insist on being heard without dispute, as though they were the organs of the Spirit. What right, indeed, do they claim to have? That they have been called by the Lord. The same reason might have been assigned by these unprincipled people, whom it was necessary to drive away so that the Church might rise again. It therefore follows that we are not to consider only what name a person has, or with what title he is distinguished, but how rightly he conducts himself, and how faithfully he performs his duties and discharges the office of a pastor. Let us proceed—